Dream Big
by TamagoFish
Summary: What would you do if your dreams became reality, only for reality to be a dream?
1. Chapter 1

_"It's the 18th tomorrow."_

_"Yeah."_

_"Are they ready for this?"_

_"We can't do anything about it even if they weren't."_

_"So all we can do is hope for the best, huh? To be honest I'm a bit nervous and excited to see what will happen. It has really been twelve years..."_

_"Yeah."_

* * *

Taiga Kagami was never much of a coherent morning person. He would wake up with his alarm blaring, go about his daily routine of washing up in a half-conscious state and finally become fully awake while he makes his breakfast. So it came as a shock that when he walked out of his room on his way to the kitchen, he trips over something and falls flat on his face.

Not fully aware of what just happened, Taiga groaned in pain as he got up into a sitting position and looked over at what was in his way. As he rubbed his nose and with a quiet "What the..." he realized that what he tripped over wasn't a "what" but a "who." The redhead groaned a second time when he saw the sprawled, passed out blonde in his hallway. He kicked the unmoving body from his position on the floor.

"Alex, wake up," he said as he began to stand, "Come on, it's too early for this. Alex. Wake up."

He nudged her shoulder with his toe and when he didn't get a reaction, he sighed and bent over to pick up the unconscious woman. He wrinkled his nose when he caught the smell of alcohol from her clothes, and slung her arm over his shoulder.

Had Taiga been more awake, he would have yelled at her until she regained consciousness and demanded to ask what she did this time. However, as he had said earlier, it was far too early for him, and so he simply dragged her to his room and laid her on his bed.

As he took off her shoes and jacket off, and wrapped her in his sheets, something fell out of her coat pocket. Curious, he picked up the paper and saw messy writing on it that he recognized as Alex's.

'_Tatsuya. 5:3-. Talk abo- Meet usu- on't - (Bring-eets?)_'

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make out half of what was written. With Alex's writing already pretty bad, it looked like she wrote it in a rush, which made it borderline illegible. Tatsuya's name in the beginning was clear enough, though. Taiga wondered what business his former teacher had with his brother, but it was early and all that he could come up with made his head spin.

'_Breakfast first. Think later,_' he thought to himself.

With his decision made, Taiga returned to the kitchen and decided to make something a bit greasier than usual for the impending hangover his former teacher will have. '_Maybe some bacon, sausage, eggs, and... French toast?_' he mused as he began taking out the necessary ingredients from his fridge.

* * *

A resounding '_thump_' could be heard from Taiga's room in his quiet apartment, just as he was finishing his breakfast. It was followed by a feminine groan of pain. When he put his dishes in the sink, he heard slow footsteps making their way to the living room and heard Alex sit down and lay her head on the table. Or, hit her head on the table and keeping it there, by the sound of another '_thump_' and groan of pain.

"Fun night?" Taiga called out from the kitchen as he reached for a clean plate in the cupboards and began to place the still-warm breakfast foods onto the plate.

"Shhhh. Quiet," the hung-over woman grumbled. He rolled his eyes as he walked over and placed the food in front of the woman who was half-heartedly glaring at the redhead with tired eyes. The sound of the plate being put down on the table and the metallic scratching sound from the fork and knife made her wince. When she smelled the odour of greasy, oily foods, however, she quickly picked up the utensils and began wolfing down the food. Taiga made his way over to sit on the opposite side of the table with a cup of coffee, watching her bemused.

After she finished her breakfast, Alex placed down her utensils and stretched with a contented sigh.

"A delicious meal as usual, Master Chef Taiga! Got any coffee with that? I'll take milk with mine!" she asked.

"I'm not your slave, so go get your own. And what's with breaking into my house in the middle of the night drunk? Again?" he questioned.

"You gave me the keys, sweetie, so it's not breaking in. I wasn't even that drunk! I mean, I got in without breaking the lock, didn't I?"

"I had to give you keys _because _you kept breaking the locks! It was getting too damn expensive replacing them all the time. Plus, you were drunk enough to pass out in the hallway without making it to the bedroom!"

"Are you saying that you wanted me to share the bed with you? Aww, that's so nice of you! I am a bit old for you though..."

"That was not what I meant and you know it! You could've caught a cold or something lying there all night!" he yelled, embarrassed. Taiga was getting tired of this conversation really fast, and no amount of coffee could help him.

"So you _do _care about me! That makes me so happy, Taiga!" Alex all but squealed as she lunged over the table to kiss him. He was at least awake enough to realize her intent and was able to move out of the way in time, miraculously not spilling his coffee.

"Holy shit, Alex! How many times do I have to tell you not to randomly kiss me? I told you in America, and I told you here over and over that it should have gotten through that thick head of yours already!"

She pouted, sat back down and crossed her arms. "How else do I show my adoration for you then? I swear… Japanese people are so conservative..."

"I don't know? By not kissing me, maybe? Like a normal person?" Alex huffed in response and Taiga gave a sigh of relief, knowing that he had calmed the woman down. It was really strange how fast she could get over her hangover with a bit of grease, and how she would be easily excitable afterwards. Maybe it was an American thing he wasn't aware of. Then again, Alex _was _just a weird person. He took a sip of his coffee.

"Anyway, did you meet up with Tatsuya yesterday or something?" he asked. Alex sat up a bit straighter and looked at him in the eye.

"Why do you ask?" she replied, previous playfulness gone immediately. Taiga raised an eyebrow at the serious tone of her voice.

"A note you wrote fell out of your pocket while I was taking your coat off. It had Tatsuya's name on it and a time. Some other scribbles too, but your writing was too messy to read. As usual." He took another sip of his coffee.

"You were snooping? I thought you were more honorable than that, Taiga! Then again, you _were _stripping a lady while she was unconscious..." That got the reaction she wanted and she laughed at him as he choked on his coffee.

After giving Taiga some time to breathe again and listening to his attempt of making an excuse ("You were still completely clothed!"), she continued with a more light-hearted voice: "It wasn't anything, really. I mean, can't I just check up on my boys? He lives a bit farther away, so it's hard to meet up. That's really it. I'm not cheating on you or anything, babe." She sent him a wink, and he sputtered some more before abruptly standing up and making his way to the kitchen to put away his mug. In his embarrassment, he didn't see how carefully Alex watched him as he went.

* * *

"I have plans with Kuroko today. Don't break anything," Taiga said at the doorway while putting on his shoes. He looked over to Alex who was reading a new edition of a basketball magazine.

"Your faith in me is humbling Taiga, thanks a bunch," she replied sarcastically. As he opened the door and waited for anything else she might add, Alex turned to face him with a teasing grin on her face. "Don't let me keep you now, go to that cute little _partner_ of yours!"

Face instantly red, Taiga slammed the door and walked to the elevator, ignoring the faint "I accept you no matter what, Taiga!" coming from his apartment.

He pushed the elevator button and entered when the doors opened. While waiting as the elevator descended to the ground floor, he attempted to calm down by taking out his phone and checking his messages. He saw that he had received a new message from Kuroko earlier and quickly opened it.

He read the content and raised an eyebrow at the text. He typed a question as a response, and Kuroko's answer didn't clear anything up. Knowing that Kuroko might be overthinking things, he texted something light-hearted.

The redhead received an instant reply and snorted at the text when the elevator opened the door to the ground floor. He stepped out and texted back as he walked. He asked about where they were meeting up, just to make sure he didn't mess up the address. Somewhere near Kaijou High School was what Kuroko had wanted. He didn't understand why his partner wanted to go so far, and texted his question.

Seirin's ace paused as he read a delayed reply. What does he mean he doesn't know? He texted back.

He waited for a response, but when none came after a while, he pocketed his phone and made his way to the train station. They already agreed to the meeting place, so there wasn't any point in backing out now. When he checked his phone again as he boarded the train, he saw that Kuroko replied. When he read it over, he felt his throat go dry for an unknown reason, and pocketed his phone. He waited until he reached his stop, mind swirling with questions while he got off. He then made his way to the basketball court nearby to meet up with his shadow.

Well, it didn't matter. All he needed was to practice some basketball and everything was right as rain. That's what he told himself when he saw a familiar mop of blue hair, and ran over in its direction.

* * *

_Tetsuya Kuroko_

_Sunday, June 18th. 10:42 a.m._

_[Is today important for some reason?]_

**_Taiga Kagami_**

**_Sunday, June 18th. 10:56 a.m._**

**_[what kind of question is that? did something happen?]_**

___Tetsuya Kuroko_

_Sunday, June 18th. 10:57 a.m._

_[There is a cake in my refrigerator.]_

_[I think I bought it for today, but I don't remember why.]_

**_Taiga Kagami_**

**_Sunday, June 18th. 10:57 a.m._**

**_[u dont remember why? maybe u were just craving cake?]_**

_Tetsuya Kuroko_

_Sunday, June 18th. 10:57 a.m._

_[Absolutely not.]_

_[The cake is chocolate.]_

**_Taiga Kagami_**

**_Sunday, June 18th. 10:58 a.m._**

**_[ha ha ok i get it.]_**

**_Sunday, June 18th. 10:59 a.m._**

**_[u should bring it over if you dont want it.]_**

**_[i wouldnt mind some choco cake myself.]_**

**_[anyway im heading out right now.]_**

**_[were meeting up near that kaijou high school right?]_**

**_[why so far anyway?]_**

_Tetsuya Kuroko_

_Sunday, June 18th. 11:01 a.m._

_[I don't know.]_

**_Taiga Kagami_**

**_Sunday, June 18th. 11:02 a.m._**

**_[what? then why are we meeting there?]_**

**_[do u even know anyone that goes there?]_**

_Tetsuya Kuroko_

_Sunday, June 18th. 11:17 a.m._

_[No, I do not.]_

* * *

Yes hello first fanfic in a very long time please take care of me.

((this is mostly an experiment and if people show interest i'll continue haha..))


	2. Chapter 2

_"What on earth-"_

_"Bzzzzzt! Wrong answer!"_

_"...Pardon?"_

_"It's not earth anymore, remember? I thought I told you already! Or... Maybe those glasses are just for show?"_

_"Like you are one to talk."_

_"So mean!"_

* * *

_Tetsuya Kuroko_

_Friday, July 7th. 5:22 p.m._

_[Kagami-kun, this will be your first Tanabata in a long time, right?]_

**_Taiga Kagami_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 5:25 p.m._**

**_[hmm? oh right, i missed last year.]_**

**_[havent been to one since i was a kid, really.]_**

**_[everythings pretty vague...]_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 5:26 p.m._**

**_[its today right? the seventh?]_**

_Tetsuya Kuroko_

_Friday, July 7th. 5:27 p.m._

_[Yes, however, in some areas festivities take place in August.]_

_[Coach would like us to go to one. Did she already contact you?]_

**_Taiga Kagami_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 5:28 p.m._**

**_[yeah, i think she mentioned something about that.]_**

**_[one of the high schools we faced off against last year...]_**

**_[one of the 'three kings of tokyo' right?]_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 5:29 p.m._**

**_[the one with that hawk eye guy?]_**

**_[man, he was tough.]_**

_Tetsuya Kuroko_

_Friday, July 7th. 5:31 p.m._

_[Yes, he was a first year regular from Shuutoku High School.]_

_[I believe it was he who told Izuki-sempai about the festival.]_

_[I hear they got along pretty well after the match.]_

**_Taiga Kagami_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 5:33 p.m._**

**_[u know u sound like those old ladies in the market when u speak like that.]_**

**_[gossiping about who gets along with who.]_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 5:34 p.m._**

**_[anyway can u tell me when and where were meeting up?]_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 5:40 p.m._**

**_[kuroko?]_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 5:42 p.m._**

**_[shit, i didnt mean it in a bad way!]_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 5:48 p.m._**

**_[come on kuroko i dont even know where the school is or what time im supposed to be there.]_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 5:49 p.m._**

**_[coachs gonna quadruple my training menu if i dont show up!]_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 5:50 p.m._**

**_[i wouldnt mind training a bit more but i rather appreciate the feeling of my arms and legs]_**

**_[please kuroko]_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 5:54 p.m._**

**_[...]_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 5:59 p.m._**

**_[i, taiga kagami, acknowledge my wrongdoings and foolishness and accept to purchase the next three vanilla shakes for one tetsuya kuroko if there is a c]_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 6:00 p.m._**

**_[-hance for him to forgive me.]_**

_Tetsuya Kuroko_

_Friday, July 7th. 6:00 p.m._

_[Get off at Komae Station and make sure you're there before 8:00.]_

_Friday, July 7th. 6:01 p.m._

_[Please bring a vanilla shake on the way.]_

* * *

"Yo! Kuroko!"

The blue-haired boy looks up into a moving crowd to a familiar voice, not caring that his reading was interrupted. He spots his partner in amongst the mass and watches him as he makes his way over. He stays quiet until the taller male lifts a hand holding the familiar design of a favourite drink. Kuroko walks over and takes the offered drink.

"Hello, Kagami-kun." He takes a sip from his shake.

Kagami heaves a sigh and looks around while rubbing his neck. "You know I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find you in this crowd." He begins to walk along the way to the entrance of Shuutoku High and Kuroko dutifully follows. He marvels at the festive decorations hung around the area. When they enter the school's courtyard, Kagami notices a few bamboo plants with colourful paper attached to the branches with string lining the walkway.

"So these are the popular 'tanzaku's and 'wishing trees,' eh?" Kagami asks as they approach one of the plants, not expecting an answer. Kuroko sipped at his drink. The redhead takes a blue sheet and turns it over, showing the large note of "BETTER MARKS." He laughs a bit and turns over a pink one, revealing a message saying: "I hope Hima-kun likes me back!" with hearts drawn around it. The few other sheets had similar messages on them, related to grades, thank you notes, or romance. One of them, to Kagami's surprise, was a wish for a relative to get better from an illness. He mentally wishes that person luck and strength.

"Kagami-kun, some people may think you are rude for intruding on people's privacy," said the shadow behind him. When the redhead realized that he had read all of the papers on the tree save for one, Kagami turned to face the other male slightly embarrassed.

"I guess I got a bit carried away..." he says as he straightens up, "But, the notes are all anonymous and out in the open. Not really the best place for privacy, ya know."

Kuroko stays silent, and abruptly walks past Kagami to the small wishing tree. He takes hold of the last tanzaku and turns over the light green sheet of paper.

_"Man proposes, God disposes."_

Kuroko reads aloud, and Kagami feels a chill run down his back.

"What the hell does that mean?" he asks, "Better yet, who puts that on a wishing tree? It sounds really ominous."

"I believe that it is a Hindu saying that means-"

"No matter how many plans man makes, anything can happen in the end."

The two partners look behind them at the arriving stranger.

"As for who puts that on there, that would be me." The dark haired man grins at the two and continues, "Kazunari Takao. Nice to formally meet you. You're that freshman duo from Seirin, right? I'd remember you from anywhere. You probably don't remember me, but I was on the humble ol' Shuutoku team you guys faced last year. Anyway, where's the rest of your team?"

A bit overwhelmed, Kagami looked over to Kuroko only to see the shadow ignoring them, sipping at his drink.

_'He's probably annoyed that he was cut off,' _and his suspicion was confirmed when he noticed how ever slightly Kuroko's cheeks puffed out. He sighed before answering for the both of them.

"Uh, yeah, we remember you. You weren't pretty bad yourself as the only freshman regular. It's nice to meet you, too. Taiga Kagami and," he pointed to the shortest of the three, "Tetsuya Kuroko." He looked over the crowd a couple of times. "Not sure where our team is though."

Noticing the slightly awkward air, Takao laughed a bit and pushed up his glasses before waving his hand.

"Don't let me keep you from finding them, then. I will recommend that you come watch the school play. It's starting in about fifteen minutes, so I don't know if there are still tickets, but you two should definitely check it out! I should probably get going. I'll see you two around?" Kagami gave a nod, and with another wave, the hawk eyed point guard was gone.

_'Did he always wear glasses?' _Kagami thought to himself. After a moment of quiet, he asked, "In the end we didn't find out why he wrote such a strange thing, huh?"

"Oha Asa."

The redhead was taken aback. "What?"

"It is a popular horoscope program that airs every morning. Today was a special episode for Tanabata where they used well-known quotes. The Hindu quote was for Cancers, with a lucky item being a tanzaku."

"Huh." Kagami let the information sink in. He noticed a while ago that the other male could speak at length when talking about literature or explaining something. It never failed to surprise him when he did, though. "I didn't know you were interested in that kind of stuff. I wonder if he's a Cancer then."

Kuroko didn't answer.

Knowing that his partner decided that the conversation was over, Kagami changed the topic.

"Anyway, we've been waiting here for a while and still no sign of the others. Did they ever mention a meeting place with you?" Kuroko shook his head and Seirin's ace let out a sigh. "We should go look for them. Actually, I'll send coach a text first." He took out his phone and did so.

They waited in the same spot for a bit and at the moment they were about to leave, they got a response. Kagami read over the incoming texts, and Kuroko saw surprise and annoyance fleet across the other's face. Curious he asked, "What happened, Kagami-kun?"

Kagami ran his free hand through his hair and let out a deep sigh. As he typed out a response, he explained, "Some of the Sempais caught colds while practicing in the rain the other day. Coach is with them, probably making their lives miserable by scolding them. Said that they were being 'irresponsible idiots' or something like that." He received another reply and flinched when he read it over. "She says she'll be cooking for them."

The two fell into silence as they mourned for their teammates.

(From his soon-to-be deathbed, Junpei Hyuuga had a sudden urge to yell out "We're not dead yet!" but then saw a caramel-haired girl walk towards him with a cooking pot and paled.)

After paying their respects to their teammates, Kagami reached one arm upwards and stretched.

"Well, nothing we can do about it right now. Since we're out here already, let's walk around, yeah?" he said as he begun to walk again. Kuroko dutifully followed.

* * *

As they passed through the crowd side by side in a semi-awkward silence (that's awkward only to Kagami), the redhead looked over to the other male drinking his shake and notices the book in Kuroko's other hand. He quickly takes the opportunity to start a conversation.

"So, what are you reading this time?"

"Folklore. There's a section on Tanabata that I found interesting to read, even though everyone already knows the story."

Apparently Kagami wasn't a part of everyone. "What story?"

Kuroko looks up to him from the corner of his eye. "The Chinese folklore tale _'The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd.'_" When he saw the taller male stare blankly at him, Kuroko continued explaining, "The most well known version in Japan is about Orihime and Hikoboshi. Are you interested?"

Kagami always was entranced whenever Kuroko told a story. He didn't know if it was the way he expressed what was happening or the tone of his voice, but more than once he thought the other would be a great story-teller to children. Eager to hear the tale to ease his curiosity, Kagami nodded and Kuroko began to speak.

* * *

_Long ago, there was a weaving princess, Orihime, who wove beautiful cloth by the bank of the heavenly river, Amanogawa. Her father, the sky king Tentei, loved the cloth she wove and so Orihime worked hard every day to weave it._

_However, the princess was sad, and Tentei asked, "Daughter, why do you look so sad while weaving such beautiful cloth?"_

_Orihime replied, "Oh, father, do not misunderstand. I love to weave everyday for you, but I know that by working hard, I shall never meet someone and fall in love."_

_Concerned about his daughter, Tentei arranged for her to meet the cow herder, Hikoboshi, who lived and worked on the other side of Amanogawa. When the two met, they instantly fell in love and married soon after._

_However, after their marriage, Orihime would no longer weave cloth for Tentei and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven. This infuriated Tentei, and he separated the two lovers across the river._

_"You two shall never meet again," the king said in anger, "My daughter who no longer weaves and the cow herder who no longer herds. The Amanogawa shall remain between you for all eternity."_

* * *

_"Thank you for tuning in! This is an Oha Asa Tanabata special!"_

_Kuroko turned to look at the television that had disrupted his reading. He had forgotten it was turned on while he was reading his book. He watched the excitable show host blankly._

_"Today, we'll be using some popular quotes, so don't forget them, okay? So today's most lucky people are..."_

_Kuroko blinked._

_"Your quote today is from the famous philosopher Aristotle! 'Happiness depends upon ourselves.' Today you will meet with someone dear to you. They will annoy you somehow, but you will enjoy their company this Tanabata! Your lucky item for today is a book of folklore!"_

_Kuroko decides to ignore the program and continue reading._

* * *

_In despair of the loss of her husband, Orihime said, "Oh, father, I beg of you to allow me to meet my love once more, for I cannot bear to be away from him forever," and began to cry._

_Moved by his daughter tears, Tentei said, "Very well. So long as you continue to weave beautiful cloth and work hard, I will allow you to meet on the seventh day of the seventh month."_

_The first time they try to meet, however, they find that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies arrived to her._

_"Orihime the weaving princess, why do you cry as so?" they asked._

_"Oh, magpies, I am so close to meeting with my love, but there is no bridge to allow us to meet," she said through her tears._

_"Orihime the weaving princess, please do not cry. We will create a bridge for you with our wings so that you may meet your love," they said, and made a bridge with their wings and allowed her to cross._

_However, it is said that it rains on Tanabata, it means that the magpies could not come, and that the lovers must wait another year to meet._

* * *

_As Kuroko finished the short tale, he noticed that Oha Asa had still not yet finished._

_"-n't forget the important things. Help others remember things too! Your lucky items are glasses!_

_"And in last place are the Cancers. How unlucky! Your quote for today is 'Man proposes, God disposes.' This Hindu saying means that no matter how much you plan your life, something unexpected can still happen in the end. Today you might find yourself in a situation outside of your comfort zone, so be careful! Your lucky item is a tanzaku!"_

* * *

**_Taiga Kagami_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 8:34 p.m._**

**_[hey coach where are you guys?]_**

**_[me and kuroko have been waiting for a while.]_**

_Riko Aida_

_Friday, July 7th. 8:37 p.m._

_[Ah! Kagami-kun!]_

_[I don't think we can make it today!]_

_Friday, July 7th. 8:38 p.m._

_[So sorry, but some irresponsible idiots thought it would be a good idea to play in the rain!]_

_[And obviously got sick.]_

_[_(；¬д¬)_]_

_[You two go ahead and have fun, ok?]_

**_Taiga Kagami_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 8:39 p.m._**

**_[oh, ok.]_**

**_[i hope they get well soon.]_**

_Riko Aida_

_Friday, July 7th. 8:39 p.m._

_[Haha, don't worry Kagami-kun!]_

_[I'm going to double their training menus after a stunt like this!]_

_Friday, July 7th. 8:40 p.m._

_[After I give them my special medicine dish I cooked up, of course!]_

_[Heh, heh. _(=｀ω´=)_]_

**_Taiga Kagami_**

**_Friday, July 7th. 8:40 p.m._**

**_[right.]_**

**_[good luck.]_**

_Riko Aida_

_Friday, July 7th. 8:41 p.m._

_[? I won't need any luck! Silly Kagami-kun!]_

_[Though I honestly wonder how they're planning on getting stronger at this rate.]_

_[While we were able to beat them last year, we still can't relax!]_

_Friday, July 7th. 8:42 p.m._

_[The Generation of Miracles are most likely stepping up their game, you know.]_

_[So let's keep up the hard work and beat the three of them again this year, ok?]_

_[_(* ^ω^)_]_

* * *

Yes, uh, thought I might warn you that this will be a long one. And totally not something you'd expect maybe. Yeah, uh. This is going to be crazy. Haha.

(I probably need a beta, my grammar is really bad and I can't proofread, sorry.)

Thank you for reading /o/


End file.
